Koreas gain UN permission to survey joint railway

November 24, 2018 — 4.32pm

Seoul: An ambitious plan to connect North and South Korea by train is back on track, after theUnited Nations Security Council granted an exemption to sanctions against North Korea which were blocking work on the project.

A South Korean soldier stands near a signboard showing the distance to Pyongyang and to Seoul from Imjingang Station in Paju, South Korea.Credit:AP

The exemption will allow surveys to take place on sections of North Korean railroad needed for the connection.

The surveys require the South to bring fuel and a variety of goods to the North, including possibly cars to test on northern tracks.

The plan to modernise North Korea's outdated railways and roads and reconnect them with the South was among many agreements reached between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who met three times this year amid a diplomatic push that eased tensions over the North's nuclear program.

Kim also met with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, when they issued a statement about a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing how and when it would occur.

A North Korean subway officer stands next to a train in a subway station in Pyongyang.Credit:AP

South Korea initially said that the joint surveys wouldn't violate UN sanctions and had hoped to start them in October.

Seoul later said that Washington had different views and the two sides had discussed the matter in a newly launched working group.

Loading

The Koreas plan to hold a ground breaking ceremony by the end of the year on the project. But beyond surveys and tape-cuttings, they cannot move much further along without the lifting of US-led sanctions, which isn't likely before Pyongyang takes firmer steps toward relinquishing its nuclear weapons and missiles.

North Korea insists that sanctions should be removed before any progress in nuclear negotiations.

A man watches a TV screen showing file footage of US President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Seoul.Credit:AP

Even if the North takes concrete steps toward denuclearisation and gains sanctions relief, experts say updating its trains and tracks first built in the early 20th century, would require a massive effort that could take decades and tens of billions of dollars.

UN sanctions against North Korea have strengthened significantly since 2016 as Pyongyang stepped up its weapons tests. The measures now include trade bans on "dual-use" technology that could potentially be used for weapons development, transport vehicles and machinery and import caps on fuel.

Washington's own sanctions against Pyongyang restrict an even broader range of economic activities and target a larger list of companies and individuals.